Exploring A Volcano In The Aegean

Never let anybody tell you that you are overdressed. Nor should you let people say furry Primark sliders are not the correct footwear for scaling live volcanos. Or specifically the Nisyros Volcano.

I did plan to write a whole blog on our recent trip to Kos, to go with my other travel posts, but if I’m honest there isn’t that much to write about. Don’t get me wrong, the holiday was bloody brilliant – but hearing about me lolling round on a sunbed or wandering around town probably isn’t the most exciting. Though, you can see some of my photos from Kos here.

Nisyros however is well worth a mention.

Set between Kos and Tilos, the island is formed around a live volcano and is home to just over 1,000 residents. Normally I’m not a fan of coach trips, preferring to make my own way, but I fully recommend one here.

As you scale the sides of the volcano, you count your blessings you did not live on the island before cars were mainstream and local fisher men had to traipse all the way down to the coast whenever they wanted a bite to eat. There are four villages on the island, however as you travel higher and higher, most of your views will be of farm land or the coast.

Perhaps it is the hard, sun bleached fields or because the roads are so quiet. Either way, it’s easy to imagine what life must have been like in times gone by. Life before the never ending 9-5, notifications and FOMO.

On reaching the volcano there’s a small fee to enter. From there on in, your free to peer over the edge or descend into the crater. The path down is steep and unmade, but is generally busy. I managed to make it all the way down in sliders and mini dress, so as long as you go carefully, you should be ok. Whilst thinking of my minidress, be warned, the crater is surprisingly breezy.

I’m pretty sure during my visit some people saw a full moon as well as the volcano, lol.

Once inside, you can get even greater sense of scale than looking over the edge. Even with a few bus loads of tourists inside, it is huge. The walls rise up and parts of the floor quietly bubble way, emitting sulphuric smoke.

Oh didn’t I mention? Live volcanos are a lot smellier than you might think.

If you are planning a visit, I’d definitely take water with you. Sure, there’s a small shop/café near the entrance to the site, however it is generally packed full of people.

Also, after making your way into the centre of the volcano, you don’t want to have to nip back up just because your bloody boiling. Mainly because, there’s no such thing as nipping.

Entering and leaving the crater take time, because no matter how hard you try, you just can’t not stop to admire the views. To relish the feeling of being so small and so fleeting compared to the force of nature. I guess, it puts things into perspective.

So if you’re ever in the Aegean and have a day to spare, why not explore the Nisyros volcano.